Last Modified: Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 6:44 p.m.

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Standing nearby was her brother, eighth-grader Clayton, who wore a signature green Hale Academy shirt. It's the basic shade of green used by Trinity Catholic High, which he will attend in August.

The Wilson siblings are among 110 students being displaced after Hale, one of the county's last non-denominational private schools, announced it would close at the end of this school year.

Marshal and Patty Wilson said their children for the first time will have to attend a school other than Hale, which opened in 2000 off Southwest 20th Street.

Two years ago, Shores Christian Academy — which saw its enrollment drop from 300 before the recession hit in 2008 to 120 by 2011 — closed after a 26-year run. There was only one Shores Christian graduate in 2011.

The news of Hale's closing, coupled with the demise of Shores Christian, has launched a discussion about the state of private schools in Marion County. The closings suggest to some there were too many private schools for the county to support, especially during harsh economic times.

While it is obvious the economy factors into the success of private schools, it is also clear the larger players have a much better chance of survival. The market is adjusting, and enrollment is growing again at the larger private schools.

As many leaders point out, parents today have more tools, including the Internet, to analyze schools. In the end, the larger schools can offer more to students when enrollment plummets at the smaller ones.

Downward trend

Before Shores Christian closed two years ago, Marion's private school enrollment was above the state and national averages.

In fall 2008, 11.4 percent of all K-12 students in Marion attended private schools. The state average was 10.7 percent.

By fall 2011, the percentage of local students attending private schools dropped to 10.7 percent, while the state dipped to 10.4 percent.

Nationwide, the percentage of students attending private schools has been on a decade-long decline. In fact, the national private school enrollment share declined from 10.7 percent in 2005 to 10 percent in 2010, according to a U.S. Census Bureau study released in January.

In real numbers, K-12 private school enrollment declined nationally from 5.4 million in 2002 to 4.5 million in 2010.

The share of Marion K-12 students who attend public school rose from 82.7 percent in 2008-09 to 84.3 in 2011-12.

Public school enrollment, not including charter schools, declined by 1.5 percent during those three years, but private school enrollment declined even more — by 9.2 percent during the same period.

School Board Chairman Ron Crawford said there is little doubt the district gained a larger share of the K-12 enrollment because of the economy.

Rising again

Officials say private school enrollment is starting to increase again after about five years of topsy-turvey enrollment trends.

After the county's unemployment rate hit 14 percent a few years ago, one of the state's highest rates at the time, many parents struggled to pay bills and shifted their kids from private school to public. In addition, Shores Christian closed in 2011.

From 2008-09 to 2011-12, private school enrollment dropped by 533 students, or 9.2 percent.

Now that Marion's unemployment rate has improved by five percentage points in the past few years, private school enrollment has responded.

The larger private schools are at least holding steady on enrollment, and some are growing by as much as 7 percent.

Jason Halstead, Blessed Trinity's principal, said there are two reasons his K-8 school maintained its 700-student enrollment: the state's “Step Up for Students” scholarships and a proven track record.

Halstead said Blessed Trinity would have lost 25 children — or nearly 4 percent of its enrollment — if not for the scholarships.

Step Up is funded through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which allows private corporations to donate money to the program instead of paying corporate income taxes to the state. Companies may pay up to 75 percent of their tax this way.

Since Step Up's 2001 inception, corporations have contributed more than $700 million to help parents afford private schools.

Halstead said another factor for maintaining its enrollment is that Blessed Trinity has been open for 86 years, indicating longevity helps maintain enrollment through rocky times.

“I also feel like parents are more informed,” said Halstead, noting the ever-increasing amounts of information on the Internet today. “When parents take tours of our school, they are asking good questions. They are more informed about what it takes to operate a school. They want the best.”

School put on hold

The Rev. Patrick Sheedy, pastor of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, said that just before the recession hit, the church was planning to build a second K-8 school in northwest Ocala. It would have first opened for prekindergarten through first grade, with one grade being added each year for seven years.

Blessed Trinity was growing strongly before the recession and had a substantial waiting list, Sheedy noted. But when the recession hit, the once-long waiting list disappeared and the second K-8 school was put on hold.

For the first time in several years, Sheedy said, Blessed Trinity will likely again have a waiting list in the fall for the 2013-14 school year.

Sheedy said another reason Blessed Trinity and Trinity Catholic High School have been able to maintain enrollment is the parish's commitment to the stewardship way of life. People who follow this path — both families who have kids in the school and those who don't — tithe at least 8 percent of their income and also give of their time and talent. Stewardship families can send their children to the Catholic schools; non-Stewardship families pay full-cost tuition for their kids.

Sheedy said he can see how the smaller private schools suffered during the recession.

Shores Christian Academy's enrollment declined by 60 percent in just a few years. As enrollment started to decline, the school began losing revenue needed for many programs. When programs are cut, parents look for new schools that can give their children the best education.

“Larger schools can offer more of an array of courses that students need, especially at the high school level,” Sheedy noted.

A new day

Tim Rowe, administrator at Ocala Christian Academy, said his school is enjoying enrollment growth, a sign of an improved economy. The school on Southeast 36th Avenue is one of the county's oldest private institutions.

At the beginning of 2011-12, Ocala Christian's enrollment was 345. Last fall, the number hit 365, an increase of about 6 percent.

Rowe said his biggest concern now is enrollment retention. He has discovered that the school starts every school year with 100 new students, yet enrollment remains constant.

Since only about 20 are lost to graduation on average each year, Rowe said the school is losing about 80 other students each year. Then the school gains another 100 and breaks even.

Rowe said this year's senior class only has nine students, roughly half a typical graduating class. OCA's senior class started high school during the 2008-09 school year, when the recession was really taking root.

“Once students start high school, they tend to stay with us,” Rowe said. Elementary and middle school students tend to move to other schools more frequently.

Jeff Knutson, St. John Lutheran's principal, said enrollment initially dropped after the recession began to take hold. However, in the two years since he has been at the school, enrollment has increased by 7 percent.

“I think it's clear this is a sign the economy is slowly recovering,” Knutson said.

Knutson said St. John received only two of the 120 students from Shores Christian when it closed in 2011. However, St. John is getting many students from Hale.

Knutson said that out of the last dozen students he has approved to start at St. John in August, four were from Hale.

Knutson suspects St. John's tuition may have been too much for most Shores Christian students, not to mention the cost of transportation to get them to Ocala. Many Shores Christian parents told the Star-Banner in 2011 that they were sending their children back to public school.

“I think our tuition costs are very similar to Hale and that's why we are getting many of the students,” he said. St. John's cost is $5,800 for elementary, $6,800 for middle school and $7,800 for high school.

Other options

At the recent St. John open house, Catherine Kuykendall arrived with her son, Maximus, to tour the school. Under a state McKay scholarship, Maximus spent his first-grade year at Hale.

“We applied here,” Kuykendall said. “We are hoping he gets accepted.”

Dottie James also attended the open house, hoping to get her grandson into St. John. He too will be displaced by Hale's closing.

Katelyn James, 19, graduated last spring from Hale. It was her one and only year at the school. She left West Port in 2011 after her junior year.

“It (the closing) is sad,” she said.

Marshal Wilson, father of Clarice and Clayton, said Hale was a tight-knit school with small class sizes that gave kids a more personalized education.

He said they toured other private schools before deciding where to send their children in August.

Tony Burke, supervisor of the Marion County School District's special assignments and planning office, said there has been a spike in phone calls from private school parents investigating public schools.

Many parents wish to enroll their children in a magnet elementary school, such as Madison Street Academy or Dr. N.H. Jones.

When it comes to students enrolled in charter schools, Marion County had a 29 percent increase from 2008-09 to 2011-12. That was mainly due to Francis Marion Military Academy adding two grades during that time.

Statewide, the charter school enrollment increased by 53.7 percent during the same time period.

Statistics show that unlike the state's huge growth in home-schooling — 18.9 percent from 2008-09 to 2011-12 — Marion County has seen the opposite. There were 29.2 percent fewer children being home-schooled in 2011-12 than 2008-09.

Kevin Christian, the district's spokesman, said that decline was likely due to the economic downturn.

“Both parents were forced to go back to work, he said, “thus children had to be put in public school.”

<p>Fourth-grader Clarice Wilson proudly wore her black Hale Academy sweater to a recent open house at St. John Lutheran School, which she will attend in August.</p><p>Standing nearby was her brother, eighth-grader Clayton, who wore a signature green Hale Academy shirt. It's the basic shade of green used by Trinity Catholic High, which he will attend in August.</p><p>The Wilson siblings are among 110 students being displaced after Hale, one of the county's last non-denominational private schools, announced it would close at the end of this school year.</p><p>Marshal and Patty Wilson said their children for the first time will have to attend a school other than Hale, which opened in 2000 off Southwest 20th Street.</p><p>Two years ago, Shores Christian Academy — which saw its enrollment drop from 300 before the recession hit in 2008 to 120 by 2011 — closed after a 26-year run. There was only one Shores Christian graduate in 2011.</p><p>The news of Hale's closing, coupled with the demise of Shores Christian, has launched a discussion about the state of private schools in Marion County. The closings suggest to some there were too many private schools for the county to support, especially during harsh economic times.</p><p>Leaders of the largest remaining private schools — Blessed Trinity Catholic School, Trinity Catholic High, St. John Lutheran School and Ocala Christian Academy — say state “School Choice” scholarships have helped stave off enrollment declines.</p><p>While it is obvious the economy factors into the success of private schools, it is also clear the larger players have a much better chance of survival. The market is adjusting, and enrollment is growing again at the larger private schools.</p><p>As many leaders point out, parents today have more tools, including the Internet, to analyze schools. In the end, the larger schools can offer more to students when enrollment plummets at the smaller ones.</p><p><b>Downward trend</b></p><p>Before Shores Christian closed two years ago, Marion's private school enrollment was above the state and national averages.</p><p>In fall 2008, 11.4 percent of all K-12 students in Marion attended private schools. The state average was 10.7 percent.</p><p>By fall 2011, the percentage of local students attending private schools dropped to 10.7 percent, while the state dipped to 10.4 percent.</p><p>Nationwide, the percentage of students attending private schools has been on a decade-long decline. In fact, the national private school enrollment share declined from 10.7 percent in 2005 to 10 percent in 2010, according to a U.S. Census Bureau study released in January.</p><p>In real numbers, K-12 private school enrollment declined nationally from 5.4 million in 2002 to 4.5 million in 2010.</p><p>The share of Marion K-12 students who attend public school rose from 82.7 percent in 2008-09 to 84.3 in 2011-12.</p><p>Public school enrollment, not including charter schools, declined by 1.5 percent during those three years, but private school enrollment declined even more — by 9.2 percent during the same period.</p><p>School Board Chairman Ron Crawford said there is little doubt the district gained a larger share of the K-12 enrollment because of the economy.</p><p><b>Rising again</b></p><p>Officials say private school enrollment is starting to increase again after about five years of topsy-turvey enrollment trends.</p><p>After the county's unemployment rate hit 14 percent a few years ago, one of the state's highest rates at the time, many parents struggled to pay bills and shifted their kids from private school to public. In addition, Shores Christian closed in 2011.</p><p>From 2008-09 to 2011-12, private school enrollment dropped by 533 students, or 9.2 percent.</p><p>Now that Marion's unemployment rate has improved by five percentage points in the past few years, private school enrollment has responded.</p><p>The larger private schools are at least holding steady on enrollment, and some are growing by as much as 7 percent.</p><p>Jason Halstead, Blessed Trinity's principal, said there are two reasons his K-8 school maintained its 700-student enrollment: the state's “Step Up for Students” scholarships and a proven track record.</p><p>Halstead said Blessed Trinity would have lost 25 children — or nearly 4 percent of its enrollment — if not for the scholarships.</p><p>Step Up is funded through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, which allows private corporations to donate money to the program instead of paying corporate income taxes to the state. Companies may pay up to 75 percent of their tax this way.</p><p>Since Step Up's 2001 inception, corporations have contributed more than $700 million to help parents afford private schools.</p><p>Halstead said another factor for maintaining its enrollment is that Blessed Trinity has been open for 86 years, indicating longevity helps maintain enrollment through rocky times.</p><p>“I also feel like parents are more informed,” said Halstead, noting the ever-increasing amounts of information on the Internet today. “When parents take tours of our school, they are asking good questions. They are more informed about what it takes to operate a school. They want the best.”</p><p><b>School put on hold</b></p><p>The Rev. Patrick Sheedy, pastor of Blessed Trinity Catholic Church, said that just before the recession hit, the church was planning to build a second K-8 school in northwest Ocala. It would have first opened for prekindergarten through first grade, with one grade being added each year for seven years.</p><p>Blessed Trinity was growing strongly before the recession and had a substantial waiting list, Sheedy noted. But when the recession hit, the once-long waiting list disappeared and the second K-8 school was put on hold.</p><p>For the first time in several years, Sheedy said, Blessed Trinity will likely again have a waiting list in the fall for the 2013-14 school year.</p><p>Sheedy said another reason Blessed Trinity and Trinity Catholic High School have been able to maintain enrollment is the parish's commitment to the stewardship way of life. People who follow this path — both families who have kids in the school and those who don't — tithe at least 8 percent of their income and also give of their time and talent. Stewardship families can send their children to the Catholic schools; non-Stewardship families pay full-cost tuition for their kids.</p><p>Sheedy said he can see how the smaller private schools suffered during the recession.</p><p>Shores Christian Academy's enrollment declined by 60 percent in just a few years. As enrollment started to decline, the school began losing revenue needed for many programs. When programs are cut, parents look for new schools that can give their children the best education.</p><p>“Larger schools can offer more of an array of courses that students need, especially at the high school level,” Sheedy noted.</p><p><b>A new day</b></p><p>Tim Rowe, administrator at Ocala Christian Academy, said his school is enjoying enrollment growth, a sign of an improved economy. The school on Southeast 36th Avenue is one of the county's oldest private institutions.</p><p>At the beginning of 2011-12, Ocala Christian's enrollment was 345. Last fall, the number hit 365, an increase of about 6 percent.</p><p>Rowe said his biggest concern now is enrollment retention. He has discovered that the school starts every school year with 100 new students, yet enrollment remains constant.</p><p>Since only about 20 are lost to graduation on average each year, Rowe said the school is losing about 80 other students each year. Then the school gains another 100 and breaks even.</p><p>Rowe said this year's senior class only has nine students, roughly half a typical graduating class. OCA's senior class started high school during the 2008-09 school year, when the recession was really taking root.</p><p>“Once students start high school, they tend to stay with us,” Rowe said. Elementary and middle school students tend to move to other schools more frequently.</p><p>Jeff Knutson, St. John Lutheran's principal, said enrollment initially dropped after the recession began to take hold. However, in the two years since he has been at the school, enrollment has increased by 7 percent.</p><p>“I think it's clear this is a sign the economy is slowly recovering,” Knutson said.</p><p>Knutson said St. John received only two of the 120 students from Shores Christian when it closed in 2011. However, St. John is getting many students from Hale.</p><p>Knutson said that out of the last dozen students he has approved to start at St. John in August, four were from Hale.</p><p>Knutson suspects St. John's tuition may have been too much for most Shores Christian students, not to mention the cost of transportation to get them to Ocala. Many Shores Christian parents told the Star-Banner in 2011 that they were sending their children back to public school.</p><p>“I think our tuition costs are very similar to Hale and that's why we are getting many of the students,” he said. St. John's cost is $5,800 for elementary, $6,800 for middle school and $7,800 for high school.</p><p><b>Other options</b></p><p>At the recent St. John open house, Catherine Kuykendall arrived with her son, Maximus, to tour the school. Under a state McKay scholarship, Maximus spent his first-grade year at Hale.</p><p>“We applied here,” Kuykendall said. “We are hoping he gets accepted.”</p><p>Dottie James also attended the open house, hoping to get her grandson into St. John. He too will be displaced by Hale's closing.</p><p>Katelyn James, 19, graduated last spring from Hale. It was her one and only year at the school. She left West Port in 2011 after her junior year.</p><p>“It (the closing) is sad,” she said.</p><p>Marshal Wilson, father of Clarice and Clayton, said Hale was a tight-knit school with small class sizes that gave kids a more personalized education.</p><p>He said they toured other private schools before deciding where to send their children in August.</p><p>Tony Burke, supervisor of the Marion County School District's special assignments and planning office, said there has been a spike in phone calls from private school parents investigating public schools.</p><p>Many parents wish to enroll their children in a magnet elementary school, such as Madison Street Academy or Dr. N.H. Jones.</p><p>When it comes to students enrolled in charter schools, Marion County had a 29 percent increase from 2008-09 to 2011-12. That was mainly due to Francis Marion Military Academy adding two grades during that time.</p><p>Statewide, the charter school enrollment increased by 53.7 percent during the same time period.</p><p>Statistics show that unlike the state's huge growth in home-schooling — 18.9 percent from 2008-09 to 2011-12 — Marion County has seen the opposite. There were 29.2 percent fewer children being home-schooled in 2011-12 than 2008-09.</p><p>Kevin Christian, the district's spokesman, said that decline was likely due to the economic downturn.</p><p>“Both parents were forced to go back to work, he said, “thus children had to be put in public school.”</p><p><i>Contact Joe Callahan at 867-4113 or joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him Twitter @JoeOcalaNews.>/i></p>